tabulas.com

To: numbr1bakr@expressmail.com

From: luvmykids@expressmail.com

Subject: episode at Wal-Mart

Hey Liz,

How have your been doing? We have not talked for a couple of weeks now. I have been so busy with the kids and work lately that I have not had a chance to write to you. I am writing to tell you about a recent incident that happened with Lucas at Wal-Mart. As I have told you before, he loves going shopping there and helping me push the buggy. I have no idea what happened the other day, but he threw a huge temper tantrum when it was time to leave. He has never done this before and I do not know what caused him to do it. After we checked out, he threw himself on the floor and started kicking and screaming. We have not been back since because I do not know if he will do it again. It took awhile for me to get him calmed down enough so we could leave. After we got home and I had time to think about it, I remembered you saying that your son had done something similar when you left the mall one day. Please write me back ASAP with any help or advice for what you did to handle the situation.

Sincerely,

Jane

To: luvmykids@expressmail.com

From: numbr1bakr@expressmail.com

Subject: Re: episode at Wal-Mart

Hi Jane,

I can’t believe it has been so long since we have been in touch. I was glad to see your name in my Inbox today. I am sorry to hear about what happened with Lucas at the store. It sounds very similar to what happened with Joshua one day while we were leaving the mall. I don’t know what came across him, but he did not want to leave at all. He was kicking and screaming so much that my husband had to literally pick him up and carry him out. I was so baffled by what had happened because it came out of nowhere. Joshua had been fine the entire time were at the mall. He has done it quite a few more times since then. As I was reading some e-mails from my mailing list one day, I saw some that talked of this same thing. Some of the parents gave a few ideas on what they had done to help with situations when it was time to leave a certain place. One thing a parent had done was to carry a little clock with him. He let his child see the clock and told him that when the "big hand" got to a certain number, that is when it would be time to leave. Another parent would tell her child they would count backwards from a certain number and when they got to one it would be time to go home. I find counting backwards from five right before leaving a place is what works best with Joshua. This way he can prepare himself to leave and knows exactly when it is time. I hope one of these suggestions will work. Let me know what happens.

Liz

To: numbr1bakr@expressmail.com

From: luvmykids@expressmail.com

Subject: Re: episode at Wal-Mart

Hello,

Liz, I am so glad that you wrote me back with the advice. It really helped with Lucas. I took him to Wal-Mart again the other day to see if he would repeat what he had done on the previous trip and sure enough he did. I was hoping it was only a one-time deal. So I tried your advice about counting backwards when we were leaving the movie store yesterday. I kind of sensed that he was getting ready to start screaming so I just bent down and looked him in the eyes and explained what was going to happen. I told him that I was going to count backwards from ten and then that was when it would be time to leave. I made sure that he understood what I was telling him, so he could prepare to leave. I then counted backwards, took his hand, and we left the store in peace and quiet. I hope this will continue to work with him. I cannot thank you enough for the advice. Hope to hear from you soon!

Many Thanks,

Jane

July 28, 2005

Today I went to Lucas’ school to watch how he acted around his teacher and other students. It broke my heart to watch as he did not interact with his classmates. This was not the first time I have observed Lucas in his school environment. It was just so much harder this time because he is older and at an age where he should have so many friends. Lucas just seemed to sad and out of place as he sit there and did most of his work by himself. During recess some of the other kids came up and talked to Lucas, but he just turned his back and would not talk back. I could just feel the tears forming in my eyes as I watched my son be so excluded from the world around him. I had to turn my back a few times because I could not stand to watch him.

September 13, 2005

Lucas’ birthday was today. He turned 13-years-old. We had a party for him here at the house and invited the entire family. All of the family was hugging him and telling him happy birthday, but Lucas showed very little emotion toward all the excitement. Nicholas opened most his brother’s presents as Lucas just sat beside me and watched. I am upset when I see that Lucas is not even very sociable around his family. These are the people that are around him and love him the most. Nicholas gets upset when Lucas does not acknowledge that he talking to him. He remains patient most of the time with Lucas, but he is still young and does understand what is wrong with his older brother. The speech therapist says that one day he may be able to feel comfortable around those that he interacts with on a regular basis. I just wonder when and if this day will ever come.

I Am

I am autistic

I wonder if I will ever be like the other kids

I hear the wheels in my head turning trying to think of something to say

I see myself talking to those I barely know

I want to be able to play with everyone on the playground

I am autistic

I pretend that I am just like the other kids

I feel like I am trapped in a cage sometimes

I touch the bars that keep me from playing and talking with everyone else

I worry that I will never escape

I cry because these bars have kept me trapped for so long

I am autistic

I understand that I will need someone to help me become free from this cage

I say that one day it will be okay

I dream about running on the playground will all of my friends

I try my best to let people know it is alright to talk to me

I hope that one day I will not have to worry about any of this

I am autistic

Research Question:

In what ways do adolescent children who function at the lower end of the autism spectrum interact with same aged peers?

Foundation Questions:

1.  What is autism?

2.  What are the characteristics of adolescent children who function at the lower end of the autism spectrum?

3.  How do typically developing adolescents interact with same aged peers? 

Tentative Point:

By completing this assignment, I hope to educate people on the effects that autism has on a child's social life.  I want readers to become more aware of what autism is and how it is diagnosed.  I also want readers to know the pragmatic skills that autistic children do possess.

Genres:

Genre 1:  Webliography

Voice:  Clinician

Audience:  General Public

Rationale:  The webliography was chosen to let the general public know a little bit more about me and my interests. 

Genre 2:  Powerpoint Presentation

Voice:  Clinician

Audience:  General Public, Client, Client's Family

Rationale:  The Powerpoint presentation will be used to inform readers on what autism is and some general characteristics about the disorder.  The presentation will also give information on the pragmatic skills of children with autism.

Genre 3:  Poem

Voice:  Client

Audience:  General Public

Rationale:  The client will write a poem describing what he feels everyday when he goes to school and tries to have a social life with his peers.

Genre 4:  Pamphlet

Voice:  Clinician 

Audience:  Client, Client's Family, General Public

Rationale:  The pamphlet will focus solely on pragmatic skills of autistic children.  This will give more in-depth information on this topic in greater detail.

Genre 5:  E-mail Exchange

Voice:  Client's Mother

Audience:  Other Mothers of Autistic Children

Rationale:  The e-mail exchange will occur between two mothers who both have an autistic child.  The e-mails will discuss an event that happened with one child and the other mother will respond back with some advice on how deal with certain situations. 

Genre 6:  Observation Report

Voice:  Clinician

Audience:  Client's Parent(s)

Rationale:  The clinician will observe the client and write a report to discuss the pragmatic skills of the client and to determine what can be done to help the client with his skills.

Genre 7:  Journal Entry

Voice:  Client's Mother

Audience:  Client's Mother

Rationale:  The client's mother will be able to express her feelings about her son's disorder in writing.  It will help her to talk about the effects it has on her son's pragmatic skills and his family, as well.

Anticipated Integration of Genres:

I intend to introduce the reader to the topic of autism and myself through the Powerpoint presentation and my webliography.  I will bring the client into the picture by his poem he will write discussing how he feels about his disorder.  After the client introduces us more to the narrowed down topic of pragmatics, the pamphlet will then talk more about this subject in-depth.  The e-mail exchanges will bring in how the mother feels about her son's disorder.  The clinician will write an observation report to show what she determines of the child's pragmatic skills on more professional level.  And last, the mother's journal entries will bring it all together as she discusses how all this has affected her son, their family, and herself.

Tentative Resources:

Agnes, S. C., Cheung, J., Leung, W. W. M., Cheung, R., & Cheung, M. (2005). Verbal expression and comprehension deficits in young children with autism. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20, 117-125. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from the ERIC database.

Bellini, S. (2004). Social skill deficits and anxiety in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19, 78-87. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from the ERIC database.

Dawson, G., Toth, K., Abbott, R., Osterling, J., Munson, J., Estes, A., & Liaw, J. (2004). Early social attention impairments in autism: Social orienting, joint attention, and attention to distress. Developmental Psychology, 40, 271-283. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from the PsycARTICLES database.

Eales, M. J. (1993). Pragmatic impairments in adults with childhood diagnoses of autism or developmental receptive language disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 593-618. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from the ERIC database.

Hale, C. M., & Tager-Flusber, H. (2005). Social communication in children with autism: The relationship between theory of mind and discourse development. Autism The International Journal of Research and Practice, 9, 157-178. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from the ERIC database.

Miller, C. (2005). Developing friendship skills with children with pervasive developmental disorders: A case study. Dramatherapy, 27, 11-16. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from the Alt HealthWatch database.

Minshew, N., Goldstein, G., & Siegel, D. (1995). Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals. Neuropsychology, 9, 255-261. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from the PsycARTICLES database.

Noens, I. L. J., & Berckelaer, I. A. (2005). Captured by details: sense-making, language, and communication in autism. Journal of Communication Disorders, 38, 123-141. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from the PsycINFO database.

Wilkinson, K. M. (1998). Profiles of language and communication skills in autism. Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 4, 73-79. Retrieved September 29, 2005, from the Academic Search Premier database.

Young, E. C., Diehl, J. J., Morris, D., Hyman, S. L., & Bennetto, L. (2005). The use of two language tests to identify pragmatic language problems in children with autism spectrum disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 62-73. Retrieved October 3, 2005, from the Academic Search Premier database.